On Privilege

Part of a series that pairs leading Australian thinkers and cultural figures with important themes in life, this handbook contemplates the meanings of privilege. From the concept of legal privilege to the privilege of being born into wealth, this essay alludes to the author’s own childhood as well as to the treatment of asylum seekers in Australia and Cubans in Guantanamo Bay. Questioning the definition of privilege and determining who has it, this argument will appeal to those interested in politics, law, social justice, and current events.

Canberra Times

[The] writing is precise and fluent, and at its best making an astute, if often overlooked point. He invites us to regard privilege 'from above and below,' stereoscopically.

Julian Burnside is an Australian attorney specializing in commercial litigation. He is the president of Liberty Victoria—one of Australia’s leading civil liberties organizations—chair of arts venue fortyfive downstairs, and chair of the Mietta Foundation. He is the author of From Nothing to Zero; Matilda and the Dragon; Watching Brief: Reflections on Human Rights, Law, and Justice; and Wordwatching.